Carlos Urzúa, nominated by López Obrador to lead the country’s public finances, said that if NAFTA is achieved this year, the peso will be strengthened…//
Citing AFP and Reuters news agencies, Expansion/CNN reports that Carlos Urzúa, nominated to the Ministry of Finance by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Wednesday that the peso can be strengthened in such a way until the dollar falls to 18 pesos at the end of 2018 if an agreement is reached in the revision of the Treaty of Free Trade of North America (NAFTA).
However, for 2019 the man chosen to lead the public finances of the country in the next six years sees the dollar trading at 19 pesos on average. He projected that in the next year, the Mexican economy will expand by 2.5% and that the price of a barrel of oil will be around 70 dollars.
After his meeting with the current president, Enrique Peña Nieto, López Obrador said that several of his proposals will be included in the economic package of 2019, which estimates the government’s projections for these economic variables.
“President Trump said that they will have to pass the elections, but we believe that after the November elections, it can accelerate very quickly,” Urzúa said in an interview with Televisa.
“If everything is ready, it is nothing more than for President Trump says go forward,” added the academic, who will occupy the Treasury post in the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who triumphed in the presidential elections July 1.
In an interview, Trump said he will postpone the signing of a NAFTA pact until after the November 6 U.S. legislative elections.
Urzúa also said that there will be a very close collaboration between the current Mexican negotiating team and the incoming government.
“At this moment they are the ones who should take the baton,” he said, adding that the peso could be strengthened to levels of 18 per dollar if an agreement is reached before the end of the year.
Currently the negotiations are stuck on the United States demands of benefits for its automotive sector and its requirement to review the agreement every five years, which is rejected by its partners.
In mid-June, Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said there would be a ministerial meeting on NAFTA in July, although he did not specify an exact date.
PETROLEUM CONTRACTS
The oil contracts granted under the energy reform of this six-year term will remain in the new government in case a review does not reveal irregularities, said Carlos Urzúa.
“If this looks good, go ahead, it’s a contract that we have to respect,” Urzúa told Televisa.
The leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won a landslide victory in the July 1 elections. In his campaign, the 64-year-old politician promised to review oil contracts granted to local and foreign oil companies on suspicion of corruption.
However, Urzúa and other members of the future cabinet have said that until now they have not detected any irregularities.
Source: Expansion/CNN
